Cluster policy as a tool for implementing regional development strategy

In the 2000s, the socio-economic development strategies of almost all regions of the Russian Federation envisaged the formation and development of regional clusters (mostly innovative industrial ones). While the cluster policy had dirigiste nature: the list of potential clusters, the circle of participants, territorial and non-territorial boundaries, the expected effects of operation were determined by regional administrations. The same type of cluster development mechanisms and tools which do not take into account regional specifics and promising economic specializations have led to premature disillusionment in the cluster concept. Full-scale mature clusters can function successfully if their profile is consistent with the specifics of the region, including restrictive factors hindering economic activity (in the Baikal region this is the so-called "Baikal" factor). The article discusses the promising directions of clustering the economy of the Baikal region in the context of the cluster development of the subjects of the Russian Federation, substantiates the role of cluster policy in increasing the connectivity of the economic space of the country and its regions.